But in Adhamiya, and all over Baghdad and the rest of Iraq, schools remain open if possible, dedicated to educating Iraqi children for a better life. The Safina Middle School in Adhamiya is a girls’ school in a particularly dangerous area of Baghdad. Raids and mortar attacks such as this one in the Adel/Adil neighborhood last January are also common in Adhamiya.

Violence against schools continues to be condemned, as it was after the January attack, but security is tenuous at best. Although the students interviewed by Alive in Baghdad are desperate to continue school against all odds, many Iraqi children are leaving out of fear for their safety.

Despite all of these threats and difficulties, students at Safina say they will continue and urge their parents not to move them to a closer school, or one in a potentially safer area, even if security continues to deteriorate. The teachers at Safina pride themselves on continuing their lessons and helping those students to catch up who miss days.

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